The inconsistency comes out just as well in the brick testament...the bible just doesn't make any logical sense. Why does god keep gathering together his chosen people, giving them such wonderous things as talking donkeys and the ability to commit genocide one minute and then the next he kills the lot of them off and starts again. Sodom and Gomorrah had it coming though, I've got no problem with that...no town should treat it's visitors like that.

I love how they have the Pharaoh's cat in there too. Ane the lovely thought balloons from the Pharaoh about his dead livestock. You know, the ones that all died in a plague, then got killed by hail and broke out in boils before all their firstborn died again. The Brick Testament totally rocks. Be sure to read the story about Dinah in there too. Great stuff.

Ubi Dubium wrote:I love how they have the Pharaoh's cat in there too. Ane the lovely thought balloons from the Pharaoh about his dead livestock. You know, the ones that all died in a plague, then got killed by hail and broke out in boils before all their firstborn died again. The Brick Testament totally rocks. Be sure to read the story about Dinah in there too. Great stuff.

Well I made good on the notion, and I am now reading through the Bhagavad Gita. Only real problem with it is that I have the "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" translation/version, which is ironically named because for every sentence-long verse, there's a few paragraphs of analysis. So I'm skipping the analysis, because it's both distracting to switch between the two, and quite frankly I just want to know what the "holy" bits say, and not some guy's opinion of them. Which does create the illusion that I'm reading the book really, really fast.

So far, it's not a bad read. Yeah, there's a lot of Krsna repeatedly saying he is the Supreme Personality of the Godhead, and some mildly misogynistic comments, although nothing as bad as the Judaic-based religions. It does spend a lot of time talking about work, of which it has an interesting take: do your work, do it well, but don't concern yourself with the results. Being attached to the results turns work into bondage. It also spends a lot of time arguing for intellectual/spiritual stimulation over purely sensational (in the literal sense of the word) stimulation, which obviously got inherited into Buddhism.

There's also something rather unique in it, as far as holy books are concerned. "Krsna" actually addresses materialistic philosophies directly, not just under a general lumping of "non-believers" like most books. He even offers a materialistic argument for handling the grief of death. Now obviously he discredits the atheistic notions, but this raises a weird paradox. If this was truly the word of Krsna, if it's a recording of an actual conversation between the Supreme Personality of the Godhead and Arjuna, why would he need to address these arguments? He's the Godhead on earth, shouldn't a simple miracle or two suffice to disprove the atheists? It's almost as if it's a very subtle admission by the writers of the book that isn't a literally true story, but rather a metaphor or allegory. If it is interpreted as an argument rather than a documentation, then it makes sense. Otherwise, it's just nonsensical.

Not really. How well you do something is little affected by how concerned you are with the results.

I may be wrong in my interpretation, but here's a crack at an example. Making a chair, good ol' carpentry and expert handiwork, that kind of thing. Focus on the doing of the actions, focus on making the chair, and all that is involved. But don't worry about making a great chair, don't try to make a chair that will amaze people, or make you a lot of money, or anything. Forget the end goal, live in the present, and just make the chair well ("well" augmenting "make" in this instance, not "chair"). Most likely, the chair will come out good anyway. I mean, unless you just shouldn't be making chairs, in that case, look for a different job. XD

It is an attitude that is quite often used in beating addictions (amongst other things): don't think about the goal, because it will feel too ambitious and distant, and you will fail; instead think about the process, living your life today, this moment right now, and the goal will take care of itself.

Also useful in getting through college or university without going mad.